1. Darian Bernard Durant was born on August 19,1982 and is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback.
67 Facts About Darian Durant
1. 2.
Darian Durant played college football at the University of North Carolina.
3.
Darian Durant was named a CFL West Division All-Star in 2009 and 2013.
4.
Darian Durant was the starting quarterback when the Saskatchewan Roughriders won the 101st Grey Cup in 2013 on their home field.
5.
Darian Durant was born on August 19,1982, in Florence, South Carolina to Betty and Israel Darian Durant.
6.
Darian Durant's younger brother, Justin, played for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and his older brother, Keyshawn, was a quarterback at South Carolina State.
7.
Darian Durant attended high school at Wilson High School in Florence, South Carolina.
8.
Darian Durant set a school record with 2,446 passing yards and tied his own record with 25 touchdown passes, which was set during his sophomore season.
9.
Darian Durant was named a Super Prep All-America, Honorable Mention All-America by USA Today and Prep Star All-Region selection.
10.
Darian Durant played in the South Carolina All-Star game, where he completed 9 of his 11 passing attempts for 215 yards.
11.
Darian Durant signed a letter of intent to play college football at the University of North Carolina in 2000.
12.
In 2001, during his first NCAA season, Darian Durant established school freshman records with 17 touchdown passes, 142 completions, 1843 passing yards and 1971 yards of total offense.
13.
Darian Durant finished second overall in ACC Rookie of the Year voting to Florida State quarterback Chris Rix.
14.
Darian Durant was awarded the Jeffrey Cowell Memorial Award as the team's top freshman.
15.
Darian Durant had set UNC records with 1,159 passing attempts, 701 completions, 68 passing touchdowns, 8,755 passing yards and 9,630 yards of total offense.
16.
Darian Durant was undrafted in the 2005 NFL draft, but signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens and attended their training camp.
17.
Darian Durant was briefly on the team's practice squad, but was cut during the 2005 season because of concerns about his size.
18.
Darian Durant was "among some of the more intriguing quarterback names" on their list.
19.
Circa 2004, Darian Durant was on the Ottawa Renegades negotiation list when Eric Tillman was the team's general manager.
20.
Darian Durant was on the team's practice roster for the remaining ten games.
21.
The quarterback depth chart was Joseph, Crandell, Darian Durant, and Drew Tate, who spent the season on the practice roster.
22.
Darian Durant spent the entire season on the active roster, and was available for all of the Roughrider regular season and playoff games, but did not see any game action while serving as the team's third-string quarterback.
23.
Darian Durant was on the sidelines as starting quarterback Joseph won the CFL Most Outstanding Player award, led the Roughriders to their first 12 win regular season since 1970, their first home playoff game since 1988, won their first home playoff game since 1976, appeared in their first Grey Cup since 1997, and won their first Grey Cup since 1989.
24.
Darian Durant was replaced by Miller, and Paul LaPolice became the offensive coordinator.
25.
Crandell began the season as the starting quarterback, Jyles was the backup, and Darian Durant was third string.
26.
In game 2 against BC, Crandell sustained an injury, and Jyles struggled in relief, so Darian Durant finished the game.
27.
Darian Durant sustained a rib injury in his third start, a game against the Toronto Argonauts, and the team went back to Crandell.
28.
Darian Durant started four games and played in four others, gaining seven passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown.
29.
In January 2009, Darian Durant signed a new contract with the Roughriders rather than becoming a free agent.
30.
At the time of Darian Durant re-signing, Tillman promised Darian Durant that he would be "the lead rabbit" for the starting quarterback position at training camp, but that it was going to be an open competition for the spot.
31.
Darian Durant entered the season as the club's starting quarterback, but Miller gave backup Jyles significant playing time as well.
32.
Darian Durant made the most of his opportunity, becoming the first Roughrider quarterback to start all 18 regular season games since Austin did it in 1992.
33.
Darian Durant was named the Roughriders nominee for CFL Most Outstanding Player, and was selected a West Division All-Star at quarterback.
34.
Darian Durant was named the Roughriders' Wireless Age Most Popular Player.
35.
Darian Durant finished the 2009 season with 4,348 passing yards and 501 rushing yards.
36.
Darian Durant threw 24 touchdown passes during the season and had 21 interceptions, leading the CFL.
37.
Darian Durant threw five touchdown passes and picked up 478 passing yards during the game.
38.
Darian Durant's 62 pass attempts tied for third highest in a single game in CFL history.
39.
At the halfway point of the season, Darian Durant had thrown 11 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions, while rushing for another five touchdowns.
40.
Darian Durant was selected as the Roughriders' nominee for the CFL Most Outstanding Player Award.
41.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Roughriders down by three points, Darian Durant was hit as he threw, and the pass was intercepted by Billy Parker.
42.
Darian Durant hired Greg Marshall to be the head coach, and Berry was retained as offensive coordinator.
43.
Darian Durant's production fell significantly through the course of the season.
44.
Darian Durant began the year having attempted 212 consecutive pass attempts without being intercepted joining Dave Dickenson and later Ricky Ray as the only quarterback in CFL history to start 7 consecutive games without throwing an interception.
45.
Darian Durant set a career-high for passer rating with 95.7.
46.
In 2014, Darian Durant was the starting quarterback for the Roughriders first ten games.
47.
Against Montreal in the Roughriders' seventh game, Darian Durant threw a fourth quarter touchdown to Rob Bagg.
48.
Darian Durant appeared to be labouring as he walked off the field, but was back under centre for the Riders' next offensive possession.
49.
Two weeks later, in the Banjo Bowl, Darian Durant suffered a torn tendon in his right elbow, which required surgery.
50.
On January 20,2016, it was announced that Darian Durant had agreed to a new one-year contract with the Roughriders.
51.
Darian Durant rehabbed his Achilles tendon injury, and was the team's starting quarterback in game 1 against the Toronto Argonauts.
52.
Darian Durant rushed 5 times for 15 yards, and caught one of his deflected passes and gained 3 yards.
53.
Early in the second quarter of the fourth week, Darian Durant left the game after BC defensive linemen Mic'hael Brooks fell into his leg on a passing play.
54.
Darian Durant was taken into the Riders locker room and later appeared on the sidelines using crutches.
55.
Darian Durant ending up only missing two weeks returning as the starting quarterback in Week 7.
56.
Waters left the game with a collarbone injury, and Darian Durant finished the game.
57.
Darian Durant was a part of the ceremony that closed out the stadium.
58.
Since the Roughriders had already been eliminated from the playoffs, Darian Durant was rested for the final game of the regular season against BC.
59.
Darian Durant was reunited with Kavis Reed, Montreal's general manager who had been an assistant coach with Saskatchewan in 2009, and Jacques Chapdelaine, Montreal's head coach who had been Durant's offensive coordinator in 2015.
60.
Darian Durant started 15 games for the Als, but only managed to win three games.
61.
Darian Durant was the second lowest rated starting quarterback according to the CFL's QUAR rating system.
62.
Darian Durant threw more interceptions than touchdowns for the first time in his career, and his passer rating was the lowest it had been since his 2011 season.
63.
Darian Durant agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on January 20,2018.
64.
On May 11,2018, Darian Durant announced his retirement from professional football.
65.
In 2023, the 2013 Grey Cup team was inducted into the Saskatchewan Roughrider Plaza of Honour, and Darian Durant returned to Saskatchewan for the celebrations.
66.
In 2024, Darian Durant was inducted into the Plaza of Honour, and one of the other inductees was Shivers.
67.
In conjunction with a local Ford dealer, and to commemorate the Roughriders' 100th anniversary, Darian Durant lent his name to a limited edition Ford F-150 truck that was sold in Regina.